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2025 Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Southeast Region

53 Colleges in the Southeast Region
4,410 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$71,769 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in civil engineering, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #50 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 53 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 4,410 degrees in civil engineering to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Civil Engineering School

Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Southeast Region Your choice of civil engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Civil Engineering School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Civil Engineering Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Civil Eng
Master's Degrees in Civil Eng
Doctor's Degrees in Civil Eng

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Southeast Region list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Civil Engineering in the Southeast Region

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the civil eng degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

10 Top Southeast Region Schools in Civil Eng

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
190 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$76,853 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in civil engineering has to check out Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus. Located in the large city of Atlanta, Georgia Tech is a public school with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Georgia Tech is a great school overall.

There were approximately 190 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Georgia Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Civil Engineering degree recipients from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus get an earnings boost of around $5,084 over the typical income of civil engineering majors.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

2
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In NC
32 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded

Duke University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in civil engineering. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.

There were about 32 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from Duke University

3
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
327 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$74,718 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat Virginia Tech if you want to pursue a degree in civil engineering. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #58 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Virginia Tech is a great school overall.

There were about 327 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Tech in the most recent data year. Civil Engineering degree recipients from Virginia Tech receive an earnings boost of approximately $2,949 over the typical income of civil engineering graduates.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
187 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$72,769 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat North Carolina State University if you want to pursue a degree in civil engineering. NC State is a very large public university located in the large city of Raleigh. A Best Colleges rank of #122 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means NC State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 187 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, civil eng degree recipients usually earn an average of $72,769 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from North Carolina State University

5
Clemson crest
Clemson University
Clemson, SC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
170 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$69,386 Median Starting Salary

Clemson is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Clemson. A Best Colleges rank of #149 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Clemson is a great university overall.

There were roughly 170 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Clemson in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, civil eng degree recipients generally make about $69,386 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from Clemson University

6
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
203 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$73,462 Median Starting Salary

Located in the midsize city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #56 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UF is a great university overall.

There were roughly 203 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, civil eng degree recipients usually make an average of $73,462 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of Florida

7
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In TN
7.4% Growth in Graduates

Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.

There were roughly 27 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
80 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
23.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the midsize suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #35 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means University of Virginia is a great university overall.

There were roughly 80 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at University of Virginia in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the civil engineering degree program at University of Virginia - Main Campus make $3,003 more than the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of Virginia - Main Campus

9
Auburn crest
Auburn University
Auburn, AL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
164 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
7.3% Growth in Graduates

Auburn is a very large public university located in the city of Auburn. This university ranks 2nd out of 42 colleges for overall quality in the state of Alabama.

There were roughly 164 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Auburn in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the civil eng program report average early career wages of $68,291.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from Auburn University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
195 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$69,321 Median Starting Salary

UCF is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Orlando. This university ranks 10th out of 70 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.

There were about 195 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCF in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the civil eng program state that they receive average early career wages of $69,321.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of Central Florida

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Civil Engineering students in the Southeast Region that almost earned our Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Southeast Region award.

Rank College Location
11 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
12 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
13 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL
14 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA
15 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
16 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN
17 University of Georgia Athens, GA

Best Civil Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best civil engineering schools for a specific state in the Southeast Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Georgia 287 446
Florida 282 1,164
North Carolina 279 448
Virginia 274 616
Tennessee 269 326
South Carolina 248 307
Kentucky 244 217
Louisiana 242 247
Mississippi 234 193
Arkansas 234 118
Alabama 233 461
West Virginia 207 112

View All Rankings >

One of 41 majors within the Engineering area of study, Civil Engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Civil Eng Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Civil Engineering 4,358
Civil Engineering 33
Structural Engineering 15
Trasportation Engineering 3
Water Resources Engineering 1

View All Civil Eng Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 8,869
Electrical Engineering 4,942
Computer Engineering 3,378
General Engineering 2,804
Biomedical Engineering 2,743
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 2,488
Industrial Engineering 2,386
Chemical Engineering 2,289
Systems Engineering 871
Materials Engineering 680

View All Civil Eng Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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